Jacopo Casadei: Painting as Continuous Drawing

Jacopo Casadei (born Cesena, 1982) lives and works in Cesena and studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Ravenna. His solo exhibitions include 'Veduta a margine' at TOMAV, Moresco (2016), 'This is nowhere' at Yellow, Varese (2015), and 'Defrag' at Localedue, Bologna (2015). Group shows feature 'Reazione a catena' at unosunove arte contemporanea, Rome (2018), 'TU35expanded' at Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato (2017), and 'Contemporary Italian Painters Today' at Federico Bianchi Gallery, Milan (2015). Casadei describes his practice as 'continuous drawing,' emphasizing line over color. He abandoned photographic references and paints from memory in the studio, though he participated in the first edition of Landina, an en plein air project by Lorenza Boisi. He sees a deep link between abstraction and figuration, and compares painting to musical composition, drawing parallels with his band Sunday Morning. He considers the creative process crucial, especially the moment of detachment after finishing a work. Casadei believes the Italian contemporary painting scene is 'alive and healthy.'